Highest 2 Lowest’s surprisingly limited theatrical release gets an honest response from collaborators Denzel Washington and Spike Lee. Serving as Lee’s follow-up toDa 5 Bloods(2020), the new film is an updated remake of Akira Kurosawa’sHigh and Low(1963).
Washington leads the thriller’s cast as David King, a music mogul who is targeted in a ransom plot, with A$AP Rocky and Jeffrey Wright also starring. An Apple Original movie,Highest 2 Lowestreleases in select theaterson August 15 through A24, with plans for the film to stream on AppleTV+ on September 5.
In a recent interview withVanity Fair, Washington and Lee get candid about Apple’s release strategy forHighest 2 Lowest, admitting thatlimited theater play before the streaming release was really the only option available for the movie. Checkout Washington’s comment below:
“That’s the nature of the business now—they also gave us a lot of money to make the film. The industry has changed. Time has changed. Sowe’ve got to change with the times.”
Lee then adds his own thoughts, confirming that Apple was integral to the movie happening at all, with the pair explaining that it was a business decision:
Lee: “This film would not have been made without Apple. That’s just the truth. We’d done this four times already, and the last time was a great box office success. Not to say that all success is built upon box office, but—”
Washington: “But itiscalled show business. No business, no show. No business, nonextshow.”
Lee: “That’s true. We understand the ramifications of this business.”
Finally, Washington speaks briefly about his decision to reunite with Lee after four previous collaborations, explaining that the “trust” between them is crucial:
“It’s trust. There was only one person to do this. And I’m sitting next to him.”
What This Means For Highest 2 Lowest
Lee’s previous movie, theacclaimedDa 5 Bloods, was a straight-to-streaming Netflix release. Even if it had gotten some theater play, it likely would have been limited to a relatively small number of theaters for not more than two weeks, given Netflix’s release strategy history.
Lee primarily makes mid-budget, adult-skewing movies, a genre that has struggled in theaters in recent years. As he and Washington suggest above,taking the deal from Apple was likely the only way they were going to be able to makeHighest 2 Lowest, at least at the budget they wanted.
A limited theatrical release, of course, meansHighest 2 Lowestwon’t be making a big splash at the box office. Theatrical play is often said to be a major factor in terms of a movie’s ability to make a cultural impact, and the new Lee movie will now have only about two weeks to do that, and in a limited number of theaters.
Our Take On Highest 2 Lowest’s Release Strategy
It’s unclear howHighest 2 Lowestwould have performed in theaters had it been given a wide theatrical rollout.The genre suggests it might struggle, but Washington, as has been seen with the reliablysuccessfulEqualizermovies, remains an audience draw under the right circumstances.
In any case,it’s worth celebrating that the new film is getting any theater play at all, as this will undoubtedly be the best way to experience his new collaboration with Washington. It remains to be seen how audiences will respond toHighest 2 Lowest, but those looking to see it in theaters evidently only have limited time to do so.
